Memory Ms. Carmelitano

Memory “Human Beings are Information Processors” We take information into our brains, and store it for later, thus creating a memory When we see/experience something, we must encode it, in order for it to become a memory How does this happen? There are three different theories

1. Multi-Store Model Idea that humans are information processors Memory consists of a number of separate “stores” Memory process is sequential Processes include: Attention, coding, and rehearsal You must pay attention to something to remember it You give that thing a “form” to remember it (encoding) You must then rehearse, or repeat the memory so that it can be stored

1. Multi-Store Model Atkinson and Shiffrin 1968 The basic structure of memory Encoding Sensory Input

1. Multi-Store Model Sensory Memory Short Term Memory Information comes into the mind through the senses. Information will stay here for a few seconds Short Term Memory It then goes into the Short Term Memory Stays for 6-12 seconds Can only hold 7 items at a time Quickly lost if not given attention

Long Term Memory Unlimited Capacity Memories are encoded, and placed into the LTM Not exact memories, stored in outline form When we retrieve information, we may fill in gaps to create a meaningful memory

Peterson and Peterson (1959) Participants were presented with sets of triplets to memorize (three letters) (IE: KDF, CLS) After showing the participants the triplets, they were asked to complete a counting task which lasted either: 3,6,9,12,15, or 18 seconds. (Counting back wards by 3’s) As the amount of time spent on the counting task increased, the ability to recall the triplets became worse At a 3-second interval, 80% of the triplets were recalled, at the 18 second interval less than 10% were recalled This is because when rehearsal is prevented, information is lost rapidly from the STM

Cat Fig Car Apple Face Grass Tractor Grade Shoe Tire Clog Leaf Tiger Rain Tree

Glanzer and Cunitz (1966) Serial Position Curve Participants were presented with a list of 15 words and told to memorize them Half were asked to recall the words immediately (IFR – immediate free recall) The other half were asked to recall after a delay of 30 seconds (during the delay they were asked to count backwards in threes from a 3-digit number) (DFR – delayed free recall) The researchers hypothesized that participants would recall the first few and last few words, but would forget the middle words

Serial Production Curve Primacy effects: The ability to recall the first few words in a set because the new stimulus received the most attention, and had the most rehearsal, transferring the words from the STM to the LTM Recency effects: The ability to recall the last few words in a set because they remain in the STS when recall commenced

Results IFR group recalled words at the beginning and the end of the list (Serial Position) DFR group did not recall the words at the end because the 30 second delay caused decay in the STM

2. Working Memory Baddeley and Hitch 1974 Based on the Multi-Store Model Challenges the idea that Short Term Memory is a single store This model shows different ways the Short Term Memory creates and recalls Long Term Memories

Encoding

2. Working Memory Long-Term

Working Memory The Central Executive: “Controlling system” which controls the other “slave systems” Processes sensory information Most important function is attentional control This tells your mind what to focus on The Automatic Level: Based on habit and controlled by stimuli from the environment The Supervisory Attentional Level: Deals with emergencies or creates new strategies when old ones are no longer sufficient You are aware of this attention

Working Memory Episodic Buffer Temporary, unconscious storage Imagine having to consciously remember the sound of a band, or a landscape The information has already been processed in other parts of the brain, and will temporarily stay in the episodic buffer until you need it

Phonological Loop Two components Articulatory Control System: (inner voice) converts written information into a verbal form When you read a word, or phone number, you are able to “repeat it” When you are preparing to speak, the memory of how to pronounce words occurs here Phonological Store: (inner ear) Holds speech-based material in a phonological form. You can recall sounds that you have heard

Visuospatial Sketchpad Recall of visual-spatial information Processes it from sensory information to long term memory

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zaa5w8cIxXI

Evidence for the Working Model Dual-Task experiments Baddeley and Hitch (1974) Asked participants to attempt to read and memorize a prose while also remembering a list of numbers This is almost impossible, because it would require the same component of short term memory

Multi-Tasking However, we are able to multi-task This is because if the activity involves multiple components, we are able to do both at once It is easier to perform a visual and a verbal task at the same time rather than two visual or two verbal tasks

Dual-Task Experiment (2) Baddley and Hitch 1974 When the participants were asked to verbally answer a true/false question and memorize a set of numbers, they were able to do so Although there is a slight delay as the number of digits increased, it was not significant This is because memorizing digits occurs in the phonological loop, and reasoning occurs in the central executive

Long Term Memory Long Term Memory Explicit/Declarative memories Implicit/Non-Declarative Memories Emotional Memories (memory of how emotional states) . HOW Semantic Memories (memory of facts) . WHAT Episodic Memories (memory of events) . WHEN Procedural Memories (memory of how to do things) HOW

3. Long Term Memory – Eric Kandel Long Term Memory is divided into two systems, explicit memory and implicit memory Explicit Memory: Fact based memories the we are consciously aware of Semantic Memory: General knowledge Ms. C is a teacher Episodic Memory: Memory for personal experiences and events I saw Ms. C this morning

Implicit Memory: Memories we are not consciously aware of Procedural Memory: Non-Conscious memory for skills, habits, actions Emotional Memory: How to react emotionally Crying during a sad movie Feeling fear in a haunted house

Brain Localization The Hippocampus plays a role in the formation of explicit memories Kandel found that people with hippocampal damage can no longer form now explicit memories but can form and recall implicit memories The Amygdala plays a role in the formation of implicit memories Neuroscientist LeDoux has found that certain memories have emotional significance, which is why we remember them better

Memory and the Brain Biological factors of memory Eric Kandel Researched memory at the cellular level As a person learns, there are changes in the synapses of the brain As we learn, neurons grow more connections and form neural networks

Clive Wearing Case Study Neurologist who studied him – Oliver Sacks 2007 Clive suffered from the most extensive amnesia ever recorded He suffered from Retrograde(loss of previous memories) and Anterograde (loss of ability to make new memories) amnesia Clive had suffered brain damage to his hippocampus and frontal lobe regions He could not form any new memories, even for a moment

Evidence of a distributed memory system Wearing was unable to transfer new information into his long-term memory He could still remember how to play the piano and conduct music, like he could before his illness – part of his implicit memory Still felt affection and love for his wife Wearing’s amygdala was not damaged, therefore his implicit memories remained in-tact Evidence of a distributed memory system

Study of HM Studied by Milner and Scoville 1957 Because of a head injury at 9 years old, he began to suffer from seizures Dr’s removed a portion of temporal lobe, including the hippocampus, to stop the seizures Became unable to form new memories – anterograde amnesia He cannot remember faces of those he meets, or remember books he reads However, HM had his previous memories

HM In 1997 his brain was studied with an MRI scanner Showed damage to the hippocampus and amygdala This supports the theory that these areas are responsible for formation of new memories